VAR, ACL injuries, and Manchester United close in on Chelsea, Arsenal, and Man City – WSL’s biggest talking points
The Women’s Super League wrapped up with Chelsea beating Reading on the final day to lift their fourth consecutive WSL title.
After the success of the Lionesses in the 2022 European Championships, the WSL captured the attention of thousands.
From huge transfers to record crowds, from breakout stars to questionable refereeing decisions, this WSL season has seen it all.
But what are the key takeaways from a season which went right down to the wire? talkSPORT.com takes a look.
Chelsea remain dominant – but for how long?
As well as lifting their fourth consecutive WSL title, Chelsea pulled off the domestic double after narrowly beating Manchester United for the FA Cup too.
This season is the seventh time Chelsea have won the WSL title.
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But something was different this season: this was not the story of a unbeatable Chelsea team storming to victory, unimpeded.
The title race this season was a heavily contested one, not decided until the last day, and Manchester United – a team only reformed in 2018 – pushed the eventual champions to the very last day.
Marc Skinner’s Manchester United side had never finished above fourth in the WSL but some significant victories this season have proved just how formidable this side could become.
In a game which was to prove vital in determining the fates of the teams, Manchester United pulled off a stunning comeback at the Emirates Stadium to beat Arsenal 3-2 and ensure that it was them who ultimately take second spot.
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Even outside the top four, a new side has emerged as a potential contender in the coming years.
In a development that few saw coming, Carla Ward has led Aston Villa through an exceptional season that has left them just outside the top four and with a bright future ahead of them.
Transfers including Jordan Nobbs, Lucy Staniforth and the outstanding Rachel Daly have added a new depth to this squad.
They finished their season with a much-deserved win over third-placed Arsenal, proving that they could even be capable of challenging for European places.
For now, Chelsea remain dominant: but the rise of teams such as Aston Villa and Manchester United leaves many to wonder if there are signs that this dominance will not last for much longer.
When will we see VAR in the WSL?
Manchester United’s Ella Toone was sent off in a game against Tottenham after she made an unsuccessful tackle on Eveliina Summanen and then appeared to push the Spurs midfielder with both hands.
Summanen came away holding her head and indicated that Toone had made contact with her face for which Toone was shown a red card.
However, Toone made a post-match successful appeal against the red card as it was found that no contact had been made with Summanen’s face.
Summanen was charged by the FA of deceiving a match official and was given a two-match ban.
Incidents such as these beg the question: is it time for VAR to take its place within the women’s game?
Early in 2022, the WSL held talks with the PGMOL to discuss the introduction of a variation of VAR to the league in the 2023-24 season, although no confirmation of this has since been made.
The Toone-Summanen incident is just one example of a crucial wrong decision threatening to change the course of a WSL game.
At the end of the 2021-22 WSL season, Birmingham City were relegated after having been part of the WSL since it was founded in 2011.
But in one of their final games against a Leicester side who were also at risk of relegation, Birmingham had their goalkeeper Emily Ramsey controversially sent off after just 26 minutes.
Leicester went on to score a penalty and net another goal which ultimately handed them the match and made WSL survival near-impossible for Birmingham.
But after a post-match appeal, Ramsey’s dismissal was deemed a wrongful one – too little, too late for Birmingham, who were forced to say goodbye to the WSL.
With more games in the 2022-23 season having been televised, decisions made in the WSL are coming under more scrutiny than ever.
Surely it can only be a matter of time before VAR makes its entry to the league to make sure such costly mistakes are minimised.
The embarrassment of unplayable pitches
Chelsea’s game against Liverpool in January was abandoned just six minutes in after a number of players experienced visible difficulty playing on the frozen pitch at Kingsmeadow.
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes had strong words after the match was called off and told the BBC that this was proof the women’s game had to be 'taken more seriously'.
The incident drew much criticism about the state of pitches being used by the WSL, as well as calls for under-soil heating, as many parties tried to understand how the match had been allowed to go ahead in the first place.
Players like Millie Bright and Vivianne Miedema expressed their anger, especially after two other WSL matches were called off due to unplayable pitches that weekend.
Not only was it a devastating day for the many Liverpool fans who had travelled hours and hours to watch the match, but it was also a stain on a league which is increasingly capturing the attention of so many.
A new record for the biggest WSL crowd was set at the North London Derby, as 47, 367 fans gathered at the Emirates Stadium to watch Arsenal beat Tottenham 4-0.
The Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium then also sold out for the first time in the competition’s history.
But stadia selling out tickets for women’s games just enforces the point: incidents like the frozen pitch at the Chelsea vs Liverpool game simply cannot be allowed to occur.
A transfer window like no other
Ex-Chelsea striker Beth England made the move to Tottenham this season for a British record fee of £250,000 where she signed a three-year deal.
The fee broke the previous record of £200,000 that Chelsea paid to secure England starlet Lauren James from Manchester United in 2021.
England was not the only player who made a bold move in a bid to secure her place on the plane to the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer.
After 12 years at Arsenal, midfielder Jordan Nobbs took the decision to move to Aston Villa – a move that has turned out to be hugely successful both for her career and for the club.
Nobbs has battled her way back into the last few England camps and, after cruelly missing out on both the 2019 World Cup and the 2022 European Championships through injury - now both she and England are heading Down Under.
And it was not just the transfers that were made this season that were significant.
Manchester United recently rejected what would have been a world-record bid of almost £500,000 for England striker Alessia Russo.
The club’s decision not to let Russo go was a huge indicator of the Red Devils’ determination to challenge for the title and retain world-class talent.
But perhaps the signing of the season was the WSL’s eventual Golden Boot winner, a player who has recently taken a starting spot on the England front line too – Rachel Daly.
With 22 goals scored this season, Daly has been prolific for Villa since moving there from US side Houston Dash.
This transfer season stood out for the huge sums clubs were willing to pay for players, proving that the stakes in the WSL are getting ever-higher.
ACL injuries
Beth Mead, Leah Williamson, Vivianne Miedema, Laura Wienrother – four Arsenal players have suffered season-defining ACL injuries this season, devastating the club.
This not only almost certainly ruled these players out of the World Cup, but also damaged Arsenal’s chances of challenging for the WSL, the FA Cup and the Champions League this season.
Outside the WSL, the injury has made headlines and other high-profile stars such as Christen Press and Catarina Macario are also set to be absent from the US Women’s National Team due to ACL injuries.
The FA has commissioned research into the prominence of the injury, but it has taken an injury to the captain of the England squad before this issue has really begun to be taken seriously as an issue in the WSL.
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Researchers believe one of the main factors that could be fuelling the problem is the lack of football boots made by major manufacturers specifically for women.
Once the results of the FA-commissioned research come back, it remains to be seen what concrete steps will be taken by the FA and by individual clubs to ensure that next season is not blighted by the same number of ACL injuries.
